6 MUST-HAVE EMAIL FEATURES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses are often faced with limited time and resources for digital marketing. However, overlooking digital marketing altogether can have negative effects on a company’s growth. If you find that your time is limited, we recommend utilizing email marketing as your primary digital marketing channel. Incorporate these 6 must-have features into your monthly e-newsletter and you should see a return on investment in no time.

1. STRONG SUBJECT LINE

According to an infographic from Mainstreethost, ‘secrets’ is the most clicked lead nurturing subject line word. Start your email off on a strong note with a powerful and enticing subject line. Remember that the subject line is the first line of defense and without a good one your users won’t even make it to the real content. Ensure that your subject line is 3 things:

Informative

Attention-Grabbing

Persuasive

2. LINKS TO YOUR WEBSITE

Linking back to your website is one of the smartest things you can do with your emails. This ensures that your website receives traffic and your users have the chance to dig deeper. Plus, you can set up Google Analytics and really track how your subscribers are moving through your website and whether or not they converted.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS

If you are active on any social media sites, ensure that you have ‘follow’ or ‘share’ icons in your email template. This is a subtle way to advertise your social sites and to encourage your subscribers to share with their friends.

4. MOBILE-FRIENDLY

One of the most important features of a modern email design is mobile-friendliness. Mainstreethost’s infographic reveals that 80.9% of users report reading email on mobile devices. What’s more, ReturnPath’s “Email in Motion” infographic found that 63 percent of Americans would either close or delete an email that’s not optimized for mobile. Not having a mobile-friendly design puts you at risk for having your e-blast deleted before it has even been opened! Make sure that you emails are mobile-friendly before you begin sending out large campaigns.

5. CUSTOM, BRANDED TEMPLATE

If you really want to stand out from the competition, customize your email template to meet your branding and content needs. From large images to multiple columns, design a layout that will work with your content. Also, be sure to brand your template so that users will know immediately who they are receiving the email from. Include your company colors, logo, font styles and more so it really meshes with your other digital and print marketing materials.

6. EASY TO SCAN

From images to bullet points, make sure that your emails are easy to scan. 65% of respondents prefer emails that contain mostly images (Mainstreethost). By adding in several images, videos, and finding other ways to break up the text, you can keep subscribers’ attention longer.